Business Leadership Development

It is seen from research and available data, that 80% of an organization’s investment resources are directed at business leadership development, human resource development and promotion of their interests while only 20% goes for upgrading and improving products and production methods.

Three categories of business leadership development

The process of investment on human resource development incorporating advanced management and knowledge management technologies are broadly classified under three categories.

1. On Job Learning

The employees selected for business leadership development need to be routed through assignments and projects that incorporate features for promotion of leadership responsibilities.

Aspiring future team leaders have to start at ground root level by working as a general team member under a team leader and gradually acquire the necessary skills and aptitudes to assume team leadership one day. On assumption of leadership duties, he would be trained to observe the reaction of others to his attempts to inspire and motivate them.

2. Formal leadership assessment & training

Many organizations handpick employees with potential leadership qualities for in-depth business leadership development training after a formal leadership assessment.

These training programs are designed to assess each participant’s aptitudes and approach to leadership and provide the necessary educational background to further enhance their knowledge, skills, attitudes, personalities and overall suitability for leadership.

3. Having a personal coach or mentor for your business leadership development

All workplace business leadership development programs are generally conducted in typical classroom environments. However, those who need more personalized training might hire a personal business leadership development coach. Although the services of a personal coach are of a very high standard and of immense value to the trainee, the charges levied by personal coaches are very high.

A more feasible option would be having a mentor. Mentors are not hired from outside, but would be a senior supervisor or a senior manager from the organization itself with hands on experience. A mentor is very helpful in guiding the leadership trainee in the proper directions of leadership and managerial qualities in general and also with special emphasis on the in-house requirements for diverse areas and activities within the organization.

A mentor could instill in the trainee an awareness of how others respond to his actions or inactions and the art of control and modulation of his tendencies and attitudes to be compatible with that of a true leader.

Mentors could further assist in the development of leadership qualities and capabilities of the trainees by finding or creating business leadership development programs with greater scope for on-job learning of practical leadership.